Heroes and Thieves
by MissKellyAnne
Summary: In an attempt to save her student, Emma's the one who's going to need a hero. Set after Bad Reputation. Will/Emma, and a bit of Emma/Quinn friendship.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first Glee fan fic!.... and my first fan fic I've written in a while... so I apologize, I am a bit rusty! I haven't gotten another chapter written yet, because I'm not entirely sure where this is going...

If anyone wants to help me finish this story, probably on a you write a chapter, then I'll write one thing, let me know! I'll be happy to have someone help finish this story :) thanks guys!

* * *

Quinn Fabray had never taken this way to McKinnley High before. Before her parents had kicked her out, she drove her own car. And before she left Finn's house (it had been her idea, Finn's mother would never have kicked her out, and Finn had still been giving her the silent treatment) she walked with Finn. And even now, as she lived with Brittany, she always either drove with Brittany when they were given the car, or they took a short bus ride.

But this was Quinn's first walk to school, coming from Brittany's house, all by herself. She should have been at Cheerios practice with the other Cheerios, but, she thought glumly, as she pushed her purse up higher on her shoulder, she was pregnant. That changed a lot of things.

Quinn could now see the school. She was a few minutes late already to Glee practice (happening after Cheerios practice to comply with some of the members), but she knew that no one would mind. She drew her sweater closer to her, as sun began to fall beneath the skyline. Just a quick walk through a small path through a gate in the fence, and she would be in the school's parkinglot - the faculty's side. She lost sight of the school for a few moments, as she pushed through a few small trees surrounding the path. A few cars were parked right beside the path, but just as Quinn was able to see them through the leaves, a rough hand spun her around by her elbow.

The smell of alcohol hit her like a brickwall, and her gag reflex kicked in. He was taller than her - bigger than her in every sense. She tried to wrench her elbow from his hand, but he held on with a strong grip. Quinn felt a pang of terror rip through her body as she locked eyes with him; they were dark brown and hazed over from the booze.

"I had a girlfriend like you once," he slurred. Quinn watched his other hand drop an empty bottle, and reach for her golden hair.

She flinched away from his hand, which did not please him. His hand quickly turned and backhanded her across her cheek. She let out a yelp, but before she could let out a proper scream, she heard something coming from the end of the path.

"Quinn?"

Quinn looked up, and for the first time, felt extremely grateful to see Miss Pilsbury.

"Oooh pretty teacher. Can I be your student?" The drunken man slurred, his hold on Quinn loosening, as he turned towards Emma.

"Quinn, get into my car," Emma said. She looked confident, with her hands at her sides, but Quinn could hear the quiver in her voice.

After ripping her arm quickly from his grip, Quinn dashed behind Miss Pilsbury. Her hands immediately rose from her sides in an attempt to block the man from getting to Quinn, but Quinn hesitated, and Emma could feel her behind her still. "Quinn. Get into the car."

"But -"

"Now."

Quinn quickly turned and ran towards the car, which was just out of view from the path. She had never heard that tone and that much sternness coming from Miss Pilsbury before. She sat in the car, completely stunned. She was in shock, unable to anything besides stare at the bushes. She vaguely registered that Miss Pilsbury had saved her from something horrible, but she was completely numb to any emotion. Suddenly, her purse began to ring. Quinn jumped, staring at it for a few seconds before she remembered she still had a cellphone. She quickly found it and flipped it open.

"Quinn?"

"Finn!" All the emotions Quinn suddenly remembered she was feeling came bubbling to the surface.

"Mr. Shue wants to know where you are. You're a half hour late to practice, and we need to do some of the -" Finn stopped, and Quinn knew he could hear her sobbing finally. "Quinn, are you okay?"

"Miss Pilsbury - He suprised me - I don't know what to do - she needs help-" Quinn sobbed into the cellphone, trying her hardest to make sense.

"Miss Pilsbury? What's wrong? Quinn, where are you-" Quinn could hear the phone moving before a steadier voice came on.

"Quinn? What's wrong with Miss Pilsbury?"

"Mr. Shue! You need... you need to come, she told me to the stay in the car, and I -"

"Where are you?" He asked. She could hear him moving through the hallways of the school.

"P-Parking lot. Miss P's car."

Quinn stayed on the phone with Mr. Shue, only sobbing, shaking, until she could see him through the windshield of the car. Seeing her teacher, she felt it was okay to step outside of the car, and so she did. Leaning against the car door, she batted Will away from her. "Miss Pilsbury - I don't know what happened -"

Will followed her pointed hand towards the pathway. "Stay with Quinn," He orded the Glee club members, who had nosily followed him out there. And then he disappeared behind the trees, and into the pathway.

* * *

Emma could hear Quinn step away from her, and after the car door slammed, the loss of the pretty blonde student seemed to register with the drunk. He frowned angrily, as he stepped towards Emma. "You just lost me my lay for the night."

Emma swallowed, her fear of germs on overload. Her arms were still up, in her attempt at blocking him from getting to her student. The path was filled with dirt, and the man in front of her did not look any cleaner. She crept back slowly, hoping to get a clear run towards her car before he could reach her.

He jumped at her, but Emma wasn't quick enough in her heels. As she tried to turn to run, she caught the heel on a half-buried stone, and fell to her side. The panic of dirt covering her entire left side, was quickly overpowered by the panic of the man who was now on top of her. His large hand hastily covered her mouth.

* * *

Will pushed back the trees, as he made his way through the path. When his eyes settled on Emma, he dropped his careful pace, and ran towards her.

Her hair was splayed in the dirt, with her big doe eyes closed. Her cardigan was pushed up over her stomach, and her skirt hiked up much higher than Will was used to. He landed on his knees next to her, reaching for her arms. "Emma," he called, his eyes swelling with tears. He swallowed back the scratchy ball in his throat, as he gently shook her arm. "Em, please," he pleaded with her. "Wake up."

Emma's brown eyes fluttered open for a moment, and settled on Will. "Will?" she moaned, not remembering what happened. She took in her surroundings for a quick moment, before she fully remembered what had happened - and what she was in. She tried to sit right up, but Will held her down gently.

"Someone call 911!" Will yelled at the kids. "But stay out of the path!"

He turned back to Emma who was now freely crying. "Will, Will... I need to have a shower." She fought him to sit up straight. "Please, I'm not... this isn't..."

"Emma, you need a doctor," Will said, trying to stay calm for her.

Emma shook her head violently, trying to push him away from her. "No, no hospitals. They're dirty, I'm dirty, I need to go home." She sobbed, her voice becoming high.

Will followd her eyes, forcing her to look into his. "Emma, you have to go to the hospital. Just focus on me, okay? Focus on me."

Emma locked eyes with him. As they waited, her breathing began to slow, and her trembling began to settle down.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: thank you so much for your reviews :)

* * *

At somepoint during the ambulance ride, Emma had found a tight grip on Will's hand. Will was using all his strength to control himself from shaking uncontrollably with fear. Emma was drifting in and out of consciousness beside him, as the EMTs were putting a temporary brace on her left wrist. They tried to keep her awake, asking her questions about the day, time, her name - simple enough questions. But the only thing that made sense, that was coming from her mouth, was the question she kept repeating to Will:

"Is Quinn alright?"

For some reason, this simple question helped Will fight to not completely burst into tears and cry with worry for the woman lying next to him. Knowing that she was still herself - still worrying over her students despite her own situation - gave him that bit of normalcy he needed. It gave him hope that Emma would be okay.

Will was only able to answer her when they wrenched her hand from his, and they pulled her out of the ambulance. As he called to her down the hall, that Quinn was alright, he could see her drowsily swat the EMTs and doctor's hands away from her. Her voice carried over, calling his name. Will watched until the doors closed, and then slowly made his way to the waiting room.

It wasn't long before he was joined by all of New Directions. Quinn was still shaking, gripping to Puck who wasn't entirely sure what he should do with her. The rest of the members looked shaken up, and just as unsure as Puck was. As soon as she saw Will, sitting on the bench, she dashed to him, taking a seat beside him. Will looked up from resting his head in his hands, and jumped back into action when he saw her.

"Quinn, are you alright?" He rested his hand on top of hers, which were resting on top of her tight pressed together knees.

She looked up from his comforting hand with watery eyes. "Is Miss Pilsbury okay?"

Will felt the stare of all the Glee club members staring down at him, but he wasn't sure what to say. He took a deep breath. "I'm sure Miss Pilsbury will be fine," it was far from what he felt, but he didn't want to worry his students. For the first time, Will noticed Quinn was anxiously rubbing her elbow. "Quinn, you should have a doctor look you over."

Quinn shook her head, "No Mr. Shue. I'm fine."

Will pulled Quinn's hands off her knees, and brought her elbow closer to him. He rolled up her sleeve to take a look at her elbow. The beginning of an angry bruise greeted him, and he quickly pulled it down. "Okay," he began, turning to the rest of the club. "I want everyone to go home - except for Quinn."

"But Mr. Shue-"

"No buts Rachel," Will put on his best teacher face. "Miss Pilsbury will be fine, but everyone needs to go home before your parents come looking for you."

The members reluctantly began to leave, Rachel and Mercedes being the last to leave. Will kept his eyes on the group, until the last member left the hosptial, when he turned to look at Quinn. "Now," he said, happy to have something to keep his mind off worrying about Emma, "I'll find some ice for your elbow, and then you can tell me what happened."  
Quinn nodded reluctantly, and soon Will returned from the nurse's desk with an ice pack. She smiled gratefully, and placed it on her elbow. It didn't take long for her to relay what happened, but as she continued, the feeling in Will's stomach churned and churned. When she was done, Will wanted to take her into his arms and hold her. Unsure of how she would react to this, he held back, but the decision was Quinn's to make, and she dove into his arms, sobbing.

"Mr. Shue, it's all my fault. All my fault." She spoke with her face buried into Will's chest.

Will stroked her hair, and felt a fatherly tug at his heart. "No Quinn, this is not your fault. I promise."

"Excuse me?"

Will and Quinn looked up, Quinn wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. A police officer stood there awkwardly, his hands gripping the belt of his uniform. "Uh, were you the person accompanying Emma Pilsbury here?" Will nodded awkwardly, and the officer continued. "What's your name, sir?"

"Will Shuester." He answered, straightening his back.

"I'm going to need you to come with me sir."

Will looked at Quinn, unsure as to if he should leave her alone. The clearing of a throat gave him a way out. Stepping into view, Puck appeared from behind the officer. "Uh, I can stay with her Mr. Shue. If... if that's alright." Puck nervously scratched his head.

Will turned to Quinn, and after a moment's pause, she nodded her agreement. Will stood, and patted Puck on the back, "Thanks for not listening to me when I told you to go home," he said genuinely.

Puck flashed Will his mischievous smile, before sitting down and gathering Quinn in his arms, awkwardly at first. Will waited for Quinn to relax in Puck's arms, turning her head into Puck's chest to continue to cry. Following the officer down the hallway, and through the doors towards the rooms where Emma was, Will could hear someone screaming. The farther down the hall Will went, the louder the screaming got, and soon he was able to reconize the voice as Emma's. Will gave a concerned look to the officer, who nervously looked back at him.

"The sedatives the EMTs gave her have worn off... she's been screaming for you since they did. No one can calm her down," he answered.

Will sped up his pace, hoping the officer would keep up and help point out the room. When the officer made a sharp right into the room, Will darted past, and into the room. Emma was cornered, now wearing a hospital gown, her make-up running down her cheeks with her tears. He could see the beginnings of purple and blue bruises along her arms, her neck, and even on her legs, poking out from the hem of her hospital gown. Her hair had fallen flat, and her arms were stretched in front of her, to keep away the nurses and the lone doctor trying to calm her down.

"Emma!" Will called to her, and her head snapped to where he was.

"Will..." She said softly, no longer screaming.

He made his way over to her, catching her just as her knees gave out. She buried her face in his neck, taking solace in his scent. He gripped her tightly, not wanting to let her go, but one look from the doctor, and he knew he had to get to her back to the hospital bed. "Em," he whispered into her hair. He ran a hand over her hair, smoothing it down. "Em, you have to let the doctor take a look at you."

She shook her head into his neck, mumbling, "No. I'm not clean - the hospital's not clean." She leaned away from him just far enough to make eye contact with him, shying away as soon as they did. "Will," she said softly. "I need to go home. Please, just let me go home."

The look in her eye, as she darted them away from his own, and focused them on floor, made his heart break in two. "Emma, you need to let them take a look at you. As soon as they're done, I'll take you home."

She hesitated, but eventually let Will lead her over to the bed, and help her lie down. The doctor knew his cue, and quickly ran though the check-up. Will felt Emma's hand tighten around his as the doctor gently pressed against her ribcage. Both he and Will heard her quick intake of breath. "Miss Pilsbury," the doctor leaned on the bedguard, and looked down at her. She didn't make eye contact, but stared at her hand that was gripping Will's tightly. "As the EMTs suspected, your wrist is sprained, one of the nurses will be back shortly with a brace for it. I believe a couple ribs are only bruised, but they will be sore for the next few days. You also have an concussion. Do you live alone?"

Emma nodded silently, but Will spoke up. "I'll be staying with her Doctor."

He nodded, taking her chart from a nurse behind him. "Okay, she'll need to be woken up every three hours or so, just for a few minutes. I'm prescriping some light painkillers, and other than that, you'll be free to leave in about two hours." The doctor gave Emma a sympathetic smile, and a nod to Will, before he left the room.

"Thanks Will," Emma whispered.

He barely heard her. He squeezed her hand in response.


	3. Chapter 3

"Miss Pilsbury?"

The officer who had brought Will in, stepped forward, with an awkward expression on his face. He nervously played with his belt, as he cleared his throat and continued. "Can you, uh, tell me what happened?"

Emma could feel Will's eyes on her, but she kept hers focused entirely on her hand gripping his. "No, I don't remember," she replied, lying through her teeth easily. She could still feel the man's hands on her skin, his breath on her neck.

"Emma, are you sure?" Will coaxed.

Emma knew he was trying to help her, but she was not going to relive that moment. She would just go home, and clean. An extra-hot shower would be sure to kill off all the germs that were left behind on her skin. The thought made her shiver. "Yes, Will. I'm sure."

"What's the last thing you remember?" The officer seemed to have a bit more confidence as he asked this question. He pulled out a note pad from the pockets attached to his belt.

The last thing Emma remembered was the pain, a fully grown man on top of her, smelling of vodka, with his dirty hands touching her. "I was walking to the parking lot to go home," she answered.

The nurse, who had just come in carrying a brace for Emma's wrist, spoke as she took a seat next to Emma's bed. "She did take a nasty bump to her head. She might not remember what happened exactly - her mind might be blocking it out." The nurse gently pulled Emma's left wrist towards her, and began to put the brace on. "There. Try to keep that brace on as much as possible - especially at night." She gave Emma a smile.

"Will, uh..." the officer began to look uncomfortable and nervous once again. "Will you... will you be requesting a rape kit?" he asked, his voice lowering in volume.

Emma felt all eyes on her, and she paused. Did she want people poking and prodding at her? She just wanted to go home... "No," Emma answered, her voice shaking slightly.

"Emma, are you -"

"Yes," Emma cut Will off. "I'm sure."

After a moment's pause, the officer took a deep breath. "Alright, well if you remember anything else, Miss Pilsbury, don't hesitate to call," the officer gave Will his card, and turned to leave the room.

"Wait," Will stood, his hand still in Emma's. "Quinn Fabray, a student in the lobby, she might be able to help."

Emma didn't look up to meet Will's eyes. She hesitated, but knew he wanted to follow the officer to introduce him to Quinn. She didn't want him to leave, but still, she let go of his hand.

* * *

"Quinn?"

Quinn looked up from Puck's chest, her eyes red and puffy. She sniffed, rubbing the wetness from them. "Yes Mr. Shue?" her voice was thick, as if she had a cold.

Will sat down next to her, and Quinn pulled away from Puck completely to face him, and the officer standing there with his notepad and pen still out. Will patted her hand gently, and continued, "Can you tell the officer what happened?"

Quinn cleared her throat, and nodded, hesitantly. "Um," she began, her fingers going to her hair. It was a nervous habit she had had since she was four. Her eyes focused on her lap. "I was on my way to Glee practice, and was taking the short cut to the back of the school. It's a path that leads right to the teacher's parking lot." She paused, trying to work up the courage to continue. "He... this drunk man just jumped me. Out of no where, he grabs my elbow. He starts talking to me as if he knew me, and then he... he hit me. I must have screamed or something, because a second later, Miss P was telling me to get into her car." Quinn turned to Will, "She was just trying to protect me - it's all my fault, I'm so sorry Mr. Shue." Quinn burst into tears, and dove back into Will's arms.

Will rubbed her back soothingly, while the officer nodded. "Okay, if you remember anything else... just give me a call." Puck took the officer's card this time.

After a few moments of calming Quinn down, she released Will, and sat up properly. "How are you getting home?" Will asked. Quinn was back to staring at her lap.

Puck spoke up. "She's gonna come home with me Mr. Shue." He began to backtrack when he realized how that sounded, "No, I mean... we got an extra bed, and we have a dog. Brittany's already gone home, so..."

Will nodded, and stood. "Okay, well if you two need anything, just let me know okay?"

Quinn nodded as well. Before the two teenagers could leave, a nurse called to Will. "Mr. Shuester? Miss Pilsbury is free to leave now."

Emma stood beside the nurse, with her hands wrapped around herself, in a surgical suit. Emma looked at Will, "They wanted my clothes..." Not that she would wear them again anyway.

Will smiled encouragingly, but before he could step forward, Quinn darted past him, and over to Emma. "Miss P, I'm so sorry," Quinn's tears were flooding her face again. Emma stared at Quinn for a moment, before she surprised Will completely, and drew Quinn in for a tight hug.

"Nothing's your fault," Emma said into Quinn's hair, "As long as you're safe, and okay." Another loud sob came from Quinn, who gripped Emma even tighter.

When Quinn pulled away from Emma, she felt better. After seeing her, and knowing she was okay, Quinn was able to leave with Puck, after only a few moments of urging by Will. As the two left the hospital, Will turned to Emma, who was staring at the door they had exited through. Will wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms, but his instinct told him not to make any sudden movements around her. He slowly reached over and tugged at the surgical gown. Emma jumped slightly, not noticing it was Will. After a split second of eye contact, Emma quickly casted her eyes downwards to the floor in front of her.

"I, um... I guess you want to go back to your home then. I can call a taxi, I, uh, think the nurse said she would call for one if I needed it," Emma said quietly.

Will placed his hand at the small of her back, realizing that when she flinched away from his touch, she wasn't knowingly flinching away from him, but from her attacker. "Em, I meant what I said. I'm staying with you, for as long as you need me to." Emma gave a small, grateful smile to the floor. "I gave Finn my keys so he could drive my car here before we left in the ambulance. Let's go see if we can find it." Will realized as he urged Emma towards the door that Finn never gave him the keys back. He hoped Finn had mindlessly left them in the car, and that the car was still there... instead of having to call Finn's house and getting the keys back there.

Luckily, the keys did slip the mind of Finn's worried teenage mind, as did the headlights. The car took a second to start up, but after a quick stop at Will's house to grab some clothes, he was leading Emma safely up the driveway, and into her small house.

* * *

It was when Emma stepped into her darkened house when she realized just how dirty she was. Not saying a single word to Will, she threw off her shoes, ran down her hallway, and slammed her bathroom door shut. As she tore off the surgical gown and tossed it aside, she could hear him calling her name down the hall. She wasn't going to answer him; she turned the shower on, and jumped in, turning the faucet to an almost burning heat. The hotter the water, the better. She realized her forgotten brace was now soaking wet, but she only tossed it with the surgical gown. She grabbed her loofah - she disinfected it twice a day - and began to scrub away at herself, not caring that the heat of the water combined with her harsh scrubbing was beginning to make her skin raw.

She wasn't sure how long she had been in the shower; she was lost in her mind. Everywhere she scrubbed, no matter how hard or for how long, she couldn't get the feeling of the germs off her. His dirty hands spreading the disgusting things everywhere - the thought made her scrub harder. She lost focus, and she knew she was beginning to cry, out of frustration and out of fear. She was going to be dirty forever.

The knock at the bathroom door went unnoticed. She didn't even realize she had sat down in the shower, until she looked up from scrubbing at her legs to see Will standing over her with a very worried expression. Normally she would have screamed, pulled the curtain back to cover herself - anything to make him leave. The only strength she could muster was enough to emit a weak sob. Will snapped out of himself and went to turn off the faucet - he accidentally touched the water, and gave a surprised squeak at the hotness. She didn't realize exactly how hot she had made the shower.

Once the shower was off, she complied with him, as he wrapped the towel that was hanging beside the shower around her, and led her out of the bathroom. In the bedroom, he sat her on the bed and kneeled on the floor in front of her. "Emma..."

"I should put some clothes on," Emma continued to avoid his eyes.

"Emma, you were in that shower for half an hour. Your skin was going to be scraped right off if I hadn't stopped you when I did." He tried to look in her eyes, but to no avail. "Emma, talk to me."

She paused, and he thought she was going to open up. "I should put some clothes on," she repeated.

Will sighed, hoping if he stayed put she would break down and talk to him. Instead, there was an awkward silence, and Will finally took his hint. He stood up from his knees, and walked out the door, giving her one last worried glace before he shut the door behind him.

Emma found a large, long-sleeved shirt her brother had left and then given her after he visited a year back. She pulled that over herself, wincing at the pain that shot up her side. She tried not to use her left wrist as she began to tear through her dresser, but it was hard considering her brace was soaking wet on her bathroom floor. Tears sprung in her eyes, as she slammed drawer after drawer - why didn't she have any pants?

Will knocked softly, and Emma's head shot up to look at the door. Will's head popped in, and she could feel tears streaming down her cheeks. "I... I don't have any pants," she told him quietly.

Will left for a moment, and returned with a pair of his sweatpants. He wordlessly handed them to her, and she stared at them for a moment. "They're clean," he informed her.

She hesitated, not sure she would be able to wear them. She looked back at her dresser - her only other option was a pair of shorts. Emma slowly picked up the pants, and as she began to pull them on, Will turned his back. She had to tug them over her hips, but they fit comfortably around her waist. When she was ready, she folded her arms, and coughed, letting Will know she was finished.

He turned around, a sympathetic look in his eyes. Her own eyes darted away from his again, and she focused her gaze on the floor. "Well, Em," he began, "are you hungry? I can make you something."

It wasn't just the thought of someone else preparing her food that was making her stomach do flips, but the thought of food in general. "Um, no thank you," she replied.

They stood there awkwardly, as Emma tried to control herself from breaking into tears again. "Do you want to watch some TV?" Will offered.

Emma hesitated, then nodded.

"What would you like to watch?" Will asked, once she followed him - at a distance, he noticed - and they sat on the couch, at opposite ends. She quickly grabbed the thin blanket that hung on the back of the couch, and covered her legs with it. Emma shook her head, not caring what they watched.

Will mindlessly flipped through the channels, aware that Emma was not watching the TV. Her gaze was fixed on the coffee table in front of them. He glanced at it, and noticed something different from the last time he had visited her small house.

"What happened to Vinnie?" Will gestured towards the rosy coloured goldfish swimming aimlessly in his bowl on the table.

"Oh, um... that's Rosie. Vinnie died a few days ago," Emma's voice was still quiet.

"Oh, you didn't tell me Vinnie died," Will said before he could stop himself.

"Yes, well..." she caught herself before she could with 'we haven't been speaking for a week, because of your messing around with other girls.'

Will fell silent for a few moments, knowing fully well what she was about to say. "I'm...I'm sorry Emma." His voice had grown quiet as well.

"For what?" she asked, her tone almost dismissing of the subject.

Will looked at her, knowing that he was not going to be getting her gaze back at him any time soon. "For everything."

Emma's eyes darted up to his for a few seconds, but just as quickly they were back on the goldfish. She didn't answer him.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Time for the rough chapter... I'm not sure I like how this chapter turned up, but I could spend months trying to fix everything about it... so I decided to just go ahead anyway. Thank you again for all your reviews :)

* * *

Emma realized, after ten minutes of listening to Will flip through channels, what she really wanted to watch. She cleared her throat, and saw Will jump towards her, eager to have her say anything, other than just answering his questions. If she was in a better state, she would have giggled at him, but she only licked her lips. "Um... can we watch The Little Mermaid?"

Will looked crestfallen that it was all Emma had to say, but he dutifully rose from the couch, and walked over to the DVD player and tv. Emma watched his back, fiddling with the edge of the blanket that laid in her lap. She felt awful for doing this to him; she felt like he was hanging on her every word, just waiting for her to say something emotional to him. To open up to him. She wanted to; she wanted more than anything for him to just kiss the pain away... but it wasn't that simple.

Will made his way back to the couch. They sat in silence while they watched the movie, but Emma could feel Will's eyes drift over to her once in a while. Emma's mind was far away from the Disney movie; it was on the breath on her neck and the hands, and the cold, cold eyes. Emma managed to get almost to the end of the movie, before she stood. "I, um... I have to go the bathroom." She answered Will's questioning stare.

She didn't wait for his nod, but left down the hall with his eyes watching her back. She closed the door behind her, again not locking it. She flipped on the facuet and the shower, but she wasn't able to pull her clothes off before Will walked calmly through the bathroom door, and shut the facuet back off. Emma's mouth parted, she wanted to say something to him, to convey her anger towards him, and her need to take a shower, but he cut her off.

"No. You're clean Emma. You're not having another shower when you just had one not two hours ago," Will said firmly. He blocked her way to the shower.

Emma glared at him. "Will, this is my home. I want a shower, and if I want a shower, I'm going to take one."

Will reached for her arm, but she stepped back from his touch. He pointed to it instead. "Pull your sleeve up, look at the damage you did the last time you took a shower, and tell me nothing's wrong."

Emma ducked her face out of his gaze, almost guiltily. She rubbed her arm, and could feel the heat coming from the raw skin, partially because of her harsh scrubbing, and partially because of the boiling water she had showered in.

He stepped closer to her, and this time, she didn't step back. "Emma, I'm not going to let you spiral downwards - I'm not going to let your phobia become worse because of this."

"Just leave, Will. I can do this on my own." Emma knew that she couldn't, but at least with him gone she could have the freedom to have showers when she wanted. This was her body, and her life. What did he care about it anyway? "I don't need your help," she added, more to convince herself then him.

"No." Emma looked up at him, still not making complete eye contact, with a surprised look on her face. Will shook his head at her. "No. I'm not leaving. I'm staying here, until you stop pushing me away. I'm not going to sit down and watch you fall." He walked around her, and out of the bathroom. "I'll be back if I hear that shower go on," he said, his voice much gentler than the words.

Emma stood in the bathroom alone for a few moments. She looked down at the surgical gown and the soaked brace, and bent down to pick the brace up. She carried it to the living room with her; Will was staring at the paused movie, clearly lost in his thoughts.

"Groceries," she said, quietly, her eyes on her feet.

Will turned to look at Emma, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Pardon?"

Emma moved closer, now toying with the brace, and sat down on the opposite end of the couch as Will. She pulled up her knees to her chest, and covered herself with the blanket again.

Emma cleared her throat before she continued, still speaking quietly as if someone would over hear them in the empty house. "I... I was going through my grocery list when I heard her. I had to get a few things before I went home, but... I was going through the list when I heard her." Emma paused. "She... she didn't scream very loudly; at first I thought she had fallen, or something. But, um... when I went further down the path, I saw h-him..." She looked up from the brace, and for the first time intiated eye contact on her own. "He was going to hurt her Will. He was going to hurt Quinn, and I... I couldn't let him. She's only a teenager, Will. I couldn't - I couldn't." Tears began to pour from her eyes, and down her cheeks.

Will reached for her, but she pulled away from him instinctively. He moved closer to her instead, only by a few inches. It was hard trying to soothe Emma without touching her, especially when all he wanted to do was gather her in his arms and never let her go. Once she was able to speak clearly again, she tried to continue.

"I should have called for help, anything... But... the only thing that was going through my head was to get Quinn out of there. When I finally noticed what was happening, it was too late." She bit her lip, and took a deep breath. "He... he put his hand on my mouth - he was so dirty, and smelled of vodka - I tried to push him off, but he was so he-heavy..." Tears were spilling over again, but she pressed on, knowing that if she didn't get it out now, she probably wouldn't ever. "His hands were all over me... he just moved my clothes aside..." She broke down into tears, collapsing into her knees.

Will's knuckles were turning white, his hands squeezed into fists. He wanted nothing more than to break something, anything, to let his anger out at the man who hurt Emma. Will swallowed down his anger, paused to breathe, and once he trusted himself to speak, he focused back on Emma. "It's not your fault," he said, honestly. "You're an amazing person, who was just trying to save someone else."

Emma looked up from her knees and gave him a watery, half-smile. Will smiled gently back, happy to see any sort of smile on her lips. He couldn't help himself - he wrapped his arms around her quickly, pulling her into his chest. Emma was stiff at first, her hands pushed him away from her, but just as quickly as Will drew her close, she relaxed. She cried into his chest, her hands pulling him by his shirt closer to her.

He glanced at the clock. "It's 10... and it's been a long day. You should get to bed, you look tired."

At this, Emma sniffed, and pulled away, but felt cold and lonely as soon as she did. She was tired, but she knew she was going to end up dreaming about what had happened to her. Not wanting to admit this to Will, as she could see he was looking tired as well, she just nodded and stood. "Here," Will said, taking the brace from her, and slipping on to her wrist. Emma drew a sharp intake of breath, as his fingers feathered along her skin while he did the velcro up.

"Thank you," she said, staring at her wrist.

Before Emma went to bed, she gave Will a heavier blanket then what was on the couch, as well as an extra pillow. Once he was set up on the couch, Emma made her dreaded way back to her bedroom. She avoided her bed, staying away from it as much as possible. She threw the surgical outifit into the bathroom garbage, not able to sleep with the dirty thing lying on her floor. She straightened her already immaculate bedroom, wiped away non-existant dust from her dressers. Finally, the only thing left to do was to sleep. She stared at her bed, her arms hugging herself as she chewed her bottom lip.

When she finally climbed into the bed, pulled her blankets up over her shoulders, she turned off her her lamp. The darkness only lasted a few seconds, before she twisted it back on again. Being in the dark, alone, was not going to help her sleep. She watched the clock tick by, a half hour she waited silently. Her mind was fighting with herself, trying to repress memories that kept being brought up. When she closed her eyes, all she could see were those dark brown ones staring back at her. How was she supposed to go to sleep?

Emma was thirsty. She flipped her blankets off her, and slowly stepped out of her bed, and creeped down the hallway towards the kitchen. Unable to get to the kitchen without going through the livingroom, she tried to step quietly so Will wouldn't hear, and could stay sleeping. She made it to the kitchen, and managed to pour herself a glass of water, without a sound. It was when she was halfway across the living room, heading back to her bedroom, when Will's head poked up over the other side of the couch.

"Emma?" he asked, his voice clear. He wasn't able to sleep either, it seemed.

"Uh, yes Will?" she straighted up from her creeping stance, and held her water glass with both hands.

Will relaxed somewhat, and sighed. "Couldn't sleep either?"

"No... just thought a glass of water would help," she added a nervous giggle.

There was a silence, and Emma found herself thinking out loud, saying things she didn't necessarily want spoken. "I feel... alone... in there." She stared at her water. "Would you... I mean... um..."

"Emma." She looked up at him. "Do you want me to stay with you?"

Emma shifted her feet. "Yes," she replied, though her mind was screaming no; not to let another man get close to her.

Will nodded, and let her lead him into her bedroom. She felt him watching her as she placed her glass of water on the night table - on the coaster, of course - and slid into bed. Will stood in front of her for a moment.

"Did you... did you want me to... sleep on top of the blankets?" he asked, slowly.

"Um..." Emma glanced over at the side of the bed she left for Will. Knowing that him being beside her, but not touching her, was about as helpful as him being the living room, she pulled the blankets to the side to let him underneath them.

He took his cue, and slid under them, careful not to touch Emma unless she gave him the go ahead. It was an awkward moment, where Emma hesitated to lay down. But her fear of the germs she was going to get from him was far outweighed by how safe she had felt in his arms that night. She swallowed, "Um... do you uh... Can I just..."

Will frowned, unsure of what she wanted exactly. He was sitting on the bed, set out on the bed in front of him, with his upper body twisted towards her. He opened his arms to shrug at her, and found Emma moving closer until she was touching him. He slid down, laid his head on the pillow, and watched as Emma made herself comfortable in his arms. She stared into his chest, finding his arms incredibly warm. Wrapped around her, they made her feel safe, and protected. Finally she was able to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

The alarm on Emma's nightstand beeped angrily at the two lying in her bed. Emma yawned, and stretched - inadvertantly bumping Will's nose with the back of her hand. She withdrew her arm quickly, and pushed herself away from him, stuttering apologies. Will grasped her hands in his own, gave her a smile, and chuckled. "It's okay Emma."

She blushed, embarassed, and quickly turned around to turn the alarm off. Once it was off, she turned back to him. "I, um.. I should get ready for work."

Will shook his head. "No," he pulled the blankets off him, and got out of the bed. "We'll go in and book the day off for both of us. I have to grab some tests and papers I need to mark - Figgins should give us both the day considering the... circumstances." He looked at Emma sympathetically.

Her eyes were cast downwards, as the events of the previous night came blasting to the front of her mind. She fell silent.

"How about some breakfast?" Will said, trying to lighten the mood. He leaned down, and kissed her forehead, as if he did it everyday. He paused, hovering over her head for a quick moment, as he realized what he had just done, but he recovered quickly. He left the room, promising her some scrambled eggs and bacon, with soy milk.

Emma rubbed her forehead - it tingled where he kissed it - and smiled softly after him.

* * *

Will was looking for something to scrub the dirty pan clean with, when he found them. Tucked away in the cuboard, underneath the sink, still sitting in the plastic bag Emma had bought them in. He thought maybe she had just forgotten to take the scrubbers out of the bag, but no, he found them behind the bag when he grabbed it to look inside. Instead, when he opened the bag, he found them - prenatal vitamins. Almost every kind you could get - calcium, vitamin C, D...

Will carried them into the bedroom with him, when he went to call her to the kitchen table for breakfast - he knew there was no way she would eat in her bed. She looked up at him, rubbing her arms as if she were cold, with her feet planted on the floor. She gave him a half-hearted smile. "Breakfast ready?"

"What are these?" He held up two of the offending vitamin bottles. Emma gulped.

"Th-Those aren't, um, mine, Will," she stood up and moved closer. He raised his eyebrow at her to show her he didn't believe her for a second. Emma continued, "Um... about a week ago... Quinn came into my office. She was holding a library book that one of the Cheerios gave her; it had a list of all the things that could go wrong with the baby - deformaties, illnesses, everything. She started, uh, crying about how her baby was going to have all of those things because she wasn't able to get the pre-natal vitamins her doctor told her to use. I was able to calm her down and show her the probability of her baby having those, er... problems." Emma took the bottles from Will's hands. "I bought these for her last week, but I haven't given them to her yet."

Will smiled, took the bottles back from her, and stepped aside. "Shall we eat?"

"I need to shower first."

Will's expression fell. "I'm timing you," he replied.

He let her shower for ten minutes, before he knocked on the bathroom door telling her that her breakfast was getting cold. He waited for her to shut off the water before he left. A few minutes after he heard her open the bathroom door, and shut her bedroom door, he heard her give a small yelp in frustration. When he entered her bedroom, she was sitting on her bed, with a towel wrapped around her waist, and a black sweater on. She was glaring at her dresser in front of her.

"Em, are you okay?" Will asked, slightly confused.

"I don't own pants," Emma said, her voice thick with tears. "I hate pants, I would never wear pants, I prefer dresses and skirts. But right now, all I really want are a pair of pants."

"Wear mine again..." the look she gave him when the words left his lips, made him regret saying it. "Um, how about I pick you up some track pants after I drop by the school?"

It took Will fifteen minutes to convince Emma his trackpants were still clean, as she only wore them to bed. After all, she would only be wearing them for a couple hours. She finally followed Will into the kitchen to eat their now slightly cold eggs and toast, wearing her nice cardigan and Will's college sweatpants. He smiled at her while they ate; she blushed under his stare. When they were done, Emma insisted on cleaning the dishes now, rather than later, as she didn't want her kitchen sink crawling with germs. Will let her clean the dishes - she insisted she could do it by herself - but stopped her when she pulled out a bottle of bleach for the sink.

He reached out, and took her hand off the bottle, and put it back under the sink. "Em, it's clean."

Emma looked distraught, staring at the sink. Will gently touched her arm, and felt her shiver from it. She moved her stare to him. "Come on, Em. We should get going..."

"I need a shower."

"You just had one," Will replied, moving her towards the front door.

"Will, please... I feel..." Emma trailed off, not wanting to finish her sentence.

"Emma, I promise, you're not dirty." He gave her the lopsided grin she secretly loved.

She shook her head, and pulled away from him. "No Will. You don't understand how... how dirty I feel. I just want..." Tears were rolling down her cheeks, as she flung her arms at her sides like a child. "I just want to stop feeling his hands on me, to stop feeling the germs crawling under my skin."

For what seemed to be the millionth time, Will's heart broke as he watched Emma; her words cutting him like a knife. He stepped closer to her. "Emma... I know I can't understand - but I'm trying. I just want to help you, help you move past this, and hopefully in the process move past your phobia as well..." Emma looked up into his eyes, and he smiled softly. "I'm not going anywhere... but I need you to meet me halfway here. Please."

It took a few moments, but Emma slowly nodded. Hesitantly, she put on her shoes, and followed Will to the car. They took it slowly, because all Emma really wanted to do was run back inside to her shower, not to mention she felt uncomfortable wearing Will's trackpants outside the safety of her own home. Emma noticed Will had brought the plastic bag with the prenatal vitamins with him when he placed them in the back seat of his car.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry it took so long for this chapter - you know how life can be. Also, this chapter moves a bit too quickly, but I think I'm just having an off chapter... so I apologize :) Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Principal Figgins hadn't been a problem, even offering Emma the next week off as well. Will, unfortunately, was forced to use one of his sick days, over which Emma had halfheartedly argued with him about. However, Will stood his ground; he had quickly filled out the form, and handed it back to Figgins.

Will had dropped her off at her office before making his way to his to grab a few things. Emma watched him leave, noticing he put the bag of prenatal vitamins on her desk for her. She stared at it, and couldn't help but think about the reasons she hadn't given them to Quinn yet. Emma wasn't sure if she was crossing some sort of line in giving them to her. Shouldn't her mother be taking care of this? Or the father – Noah? Was it weird of Emma to want to take care of Quinn so personally, not just in the way a high school guidance counselor should?

A knock at Emma's door startled her, and she whipped around. "Oh," she said, letting out the breath she was holding, "Quinn, how are you?" Out of habit, Emma walked around and took a seat at her desk. She motioned for Quinn to take a seat across from her.

Quinn hesitantly took a seat, and began to fidget with her hands in her lap.

"Why are you at the school so early?" Emma asked, trying to get rid of the awkward silence.

"Puck has football practice. I didn't want to walk to school by myself," she answered quietly. Her eyes locked with Emma's. "I was just wondering if you were okay..."

Emma smiled, but before she could decide on an answer, she spotted the plastic bag. "Oh, this is for you." Emma handed the bag to Quinn, and she knew she was beginning to babble. "You came into my office a couple weeks ago with that library book, so I thought these might help relax you."

Quinn opened the bag, and stared at the pills. After a moment, Emma could see tears rolling down Quinn's cheeks. Wondering what she had done wrong, Emma moved out of her chair, and around the desk to take a seat next in the chair next to Quinn. Emma reached for Quinn's back, her hand almost touching her, but drew back quickly, because of the germs. Taking a deep breath, Emma slowly reached her hand back out and settled it on Quinn's back, rubbing it gently. She knew she shouldn't have given those pills to Quinn – she did cross a line, Emma cursed herself.

"It's okay Quinn, I can take them back if you don't want them - "

"No! It's not that!" Quinn sobbed, her voice almost shrill. "It's j-j-just," she swallowed back some of the tears, and looked up into Emma's eyes. "You've been more of a mother to me in one day than my mother has been to me my whole life. You... you protected me, you've bought me vitamins... my mother won't even talk or see me now. And before this," Quinn gestured towards her swollen belly, "... it was all a show; an act." Quinn broke down into tears, and turned to bury her head into Emma's shoulder.

Emma's eyes widened as she held her breath for a moment. Quinn was crying into her shoulder, and Emma was basically hugging her... Emma knew the feeling of germs crawling all over her was just her imagination – her fear taking over. She glanced down at Quinn. She couldn't freak out, not with Quinn here. Emma swallowed, closed her eyes tightly and slowly began to count to whatever number she needed, taking deep breaths.

* * *

It was after Quinn had left, when Emma began to feel angry. Once she washed her hands twice, and used three squirts of hand sanitizer, and she couldn't feel the germs anymore... the realization hit her.

Will noticed right away the mood change in Emma. On their way to the store to pick up a couple pair of what Will assumed would be sweat pants for Emma, she barely spoke; she just stared out the window watching everything go by. In the store, he watched and heard her slam things back on the rack, almost stomping her feet around, and that faint blush in her cheeks was something he had only seen while Emma was yelling at him in the teacher's lounge.

"So are you going to stomp around all day, or are you going to fill me in on why you're angry?" Will asked, fingering through a rack of women's track pants.

Emma whirled around to face him. "Did you know Quinn Fabray's parents kicked her out of their house?" Her voice sounded almost accusatory.

"Well... yes. But she's staying with friends..."

Emma let out a sigh of frustration. "No Will! That's not right. They're her parents – they can't just kick her out when she's not who they want her to be anymore. She made a mistake – granted, it was a huge mistake, but that's what teenagers do, Will! They make mistakes!" Emma stared at the rack of sweat pants in front of her. "They're.. they're supposed to love her no matter what."

Will wrapped an arm around her, and her in for a hug. He tucked her head under his chin, and kissed the top of her head. "I know, it's sad when things don't turn out the way they should."

He could feel her nod into his chest. They stayed their for a moment, before she pulled away, and grabbed four of the same style of sweat pants – in different colours. Looking back at Will, who still had his arm around her, she said in a sad voice, "I want to go home."

Will nodded, and led her out of the store, quickly paying for her pants. When he opened the car door for her, and she left his side to sit down, he realized just how closely she had been following him. Will couldn't help but let his mind leap to the conclusion that it was because he made her feel safe – and his heart swelled at this thought.

* * *

After washing the dishes they had dirtied making lunch, Will coaxed Emma into a chair at the kitchen table, as she rambled on about wanting to take a shower again. He got her settled, kissing her on the forehead, and began to putter around getting some water boiling for her favourite peppermint tea.

Emma watched his every move, taking comfort just in his presence. Her hands were folded in her lap, and her back pin straight as usual. She couldn't help but feel as if he belonged here – in her kitchen, with her. Her earlier thoughts about Quinn were brought up, as she let her mind wander – not too far though; she was pushing the events of yesterday to the back of her mind.

Quinn needed a stable environment. What was going to happen after she gave the baby up for adoption? Would she still live with friends, or would her parents take her back? The whole idea sickened Emma, to think her own parents disowned her as quickly as they did.

Will sat down across from Emma, and placed the mug of steaming tea in front of her. She smiled, and took it, but stared into liquid, playing with the tea bag string. It was quiet in the kitchen, until Emma cleared her throat. "I think I want Quinn to stay here," she said, clearly.

Will choked on the liquid, set his mug down, and asked in a scratchy voice, "Pardon?"

Emma gestured towards the other side of the house with her hand. "I have an extra room – it's filled with my books from school, and all my favourite novels... but I could move them somewhere else. I know it would be hard with my... problems, but I really think it would be better for her to stay somewhere stable. And here she can have her own room, and quiet atmosphere to concentrate on school..." She knew she was thinking aloud, but she found it better than keeping her thoughts in her head.

"Emma..." Will started gently. Her eyes darted to meet his, and he felt happy that already she was starting to make eye contact on her own, but he continued, not sure if she was going to like what he had to say. "It's hard to look after a child – never mind a pregnant teenager. It's going to get really messy..."

"I'm sure Will," Emma replied. She gripped the mug, "she needs a home; you didn't see how hard it was on her... a girl should be able to rely on her mother, and she's never been able to. I want her to know that someone is always going to be there for her, no matter what."

Will paused, before letting a soft smile break on his face. "You have such a big heart Emma... but are you sure you want to do this right now? So soon after everything that's happened?"

Emma couldn't answer, because she didn't have one. She wasn't sure if right now was the best time to take Quinn in, especially if she -

"It might be a little weird having a student living with you – even weird for Quinn to live with one of her teachers," Will continued, breaking through her thoughts.

Gosh, she thought, she had never thought about that... how would Quinn react to staying with Emma? Would she even want to? And how would Quinn react to Will being around all the time – since he'd be staying with Emma for a while, as he proclaimed to her last night...

"And do you really have the money to put into Quinn and what she needs?"

Finally, a question Emma knew the answer to. "I'm...um..." Emma looked up from her tea and bit her lip. "You know I told you my parents died when I was twenty two right?"

Will cocked his head. "Yes..."

"Well, um..." Emma took a breath. "My family comes from 'old money'. They were... well they were rich. And their money was passed down to me and my brother when they died." Emma rubbed her hands around the tea mug. "It's the cliché story I suppose – I grew up wealthy and I never wanted it. My brother never really did either..." Emma smiled at Will. "So I at least have the money part figured out."

Will grinned as she made her first joke since her attack. He took a sip at his tea, and he knew she was going to be okay.


	7. Chapter 7

Once Emma relaxed in Will's arms and at his touch, she found she couldn't get enough of it. Soon, the only time she felt safe was when he was near. After clearing the table, and cleaning up the dishes they used for the tea, they sat down in the living room. She was curled up on her couch, leaning against his shoulder, watching the turned-off TV. It was silent, and Emma didn't mind – she was fine as long as Will was close to her.

"Emma, I wanted to talk to you about something..."

She turned her head up towards Will's face. "Um, okay..."

"I... well I think you should go to the doctors. Soon."

Emma hesitated, but pushed herself up off of his body, to face him completely. "What do you mean? I'm fine, I'm wearing the brace, I haven't taken it off, except to shower..."

"No," Will's cheeks flushed; he looked almost embarrassed. "Um... I mean... the, uh... girls' doctor?"

"You want me to get a rape kit," Emma said, more to herself than to Will.

"Just to make sure -"

"No."

"Emma, please you -"

"Will I don't want to be poked and prodded at like, like..." Her voice trailed off, as she pulled herself away from his arms. She felt her body grow cold, and she shivered.

"I'll be there with you. I'll hold your hand – please Emma, I just want to make sure you're safe and okay."

Emma stared at him, knowing he wanted what was best for her. After their pause, she slowly relaxed herself back into his arms, quietly asking for him to let her sleep on it.

* * *

That was the night the nightmares began. Will woke up to the feeling of Emma clutching at his shirt, her nails almost scraping through to his skin. She kept mumbling his name, over and over again, moving restlessly against him. When her eyes finally opened, tears flooded out of them. Only after he made her realize it was him in her bed, holding her, did she pull herself closer to him. He could feel her tears soak through his shirt, as his arms held her tightly into his chest.

This process repeated several times during the night, and each time, Emma could feel him holding on to her tightly and whispering words of comfort gently in her ear. When Will finally woke up for the day, he found himself alone. Still groggy from lack of sleep and hazy from having just woke up, he left Emma's bed, and made his way down the hall, following the noises that would lead him to Emma. He entered the kitchen, where he could hear the clattering of dishes.

Emma stood in her new pants, and a gray cardigan, her hair still damp from her shower. She tucked a natural wave behind her ear, as she turned away from Will, before noticing he was there, and took her freshly-made tea to sit down at the table. She noticed Will standing there watching her when she took her seat.

"Good morning," Emma gave him a small smile.

Will grinned. "Good morning, beautiful." She blushed, and he poured himself a cup of boiling water and added the tea bag in.

"Um," Emma began, as Will took a seat across from her. "Thank you, for, um, … last night."

Will's smile softened. "I'd do anything for you Emma, you know that."

Emma's blush deepened. "I, um... I made an appointment this morning. I'm going to the gynecologist on Monday, after school."

"Emma," Will reached over and squeezed her non-braced wrist gently. "I'm so proud of you."

Emma nodded, slightly embarrassed.

"Um... how long was..." Will bit his tongue, trying to find a nice way of asking how long she showered for this morning. He couldn't see her skin very well due to her cardigan.

"15 minutes... I know, it should have been ten, but I lost track of time, and..."

"Em," Will cut her off. "Fifteen minutes is good considering you probably wanted to stay in there for another hour." He smiled at her again.

Emma ducked her head, and nodded, blushing.

The weekend flew by quickly for Emma. Saturday was spent curled up on the couch, watching old movies that littered the TV guide. She realized how much effort Will was putting into not only helping her through this life crisis, but also through her phobia. He distracted her enough to not remember the dirty dishes from lunch for twelve minutes – and nearly twenty minutes when it was the dirty dinner dishes. He convinced her to let him cook the meals, which that in itself was a leap – she dismissed it as being too tired and emotionally drained to fight with him over the matter. She did, however, sit in the kitchen and watch him cook for her. Will cooking in her kitchen had a sense of domesticity in it that warmed her heart.

Saturday night was much like Friday night – the nightmares plagued her. She knew it wasn't only effecting her sleeping, but also Will's. She brought up her concern that he wasn't getting enough sleep, but he brushed it off, assuring her that he wasn't going to leave her alone until she was ready. He would be able to get by on small amounts of sleep. She showered twice that day – the second one only taking her ten minutes. She contemplated taking another shower in the middle of the night – a nice long, hot one, but her respect and love for Will denied her that option. Taking another shower in secret would make her feel as if she were cheating on him, especially after all the hard work and effort he was putting in to helping her.

Sunday, Emma decided to she was feeling well enough to talk about what had happened in more depth. Being a guidance counselor and having a degree in psychology, she knew what keeping everything bottled up would do to her, and how expressing herself to someone she trusted would help her. It was the first time since the fiasco in the teacher's lounge that Emma had admitted she trusted Will.

"I just..." Emma looked up and tried to blink back the tears threatening to fall. She looked very un-Emma like, with her legs crossed on the couch, her hair falling in natural waves around her shoulders, and her hands dumped her lap, her fingers picking at her nails. "I can feel his hands on me. All the time. I can't get his eyes out of my head, and I can feel the pain..."

Will held her hand through the entire monologue Emma gave him. At the end, he kissed her cheek, squeezed her hands, and simply told her, "I'm proud that you're telling me this Emma. I know how hard this is for you."

He wasn't lying – he was happy she was telling him these things, and how she felt. It was good for her, to get things off her chest, and for her to feel she could trust him with anything she wanted. But it still hurt him; with every word she told him about her attack, she broke a piece of his heart. He hounded himself for not being there to protect her, or to stop him. At night, his dreams were filled of different endings – mainly her not waking up for him when he had found her. His only happy dreams were ones in which he had saved her – beating up the foul drunk who had dared to touch his Emma.

Psychology didn't lie to Emma – she experienced less nightmares than the previous nights. Will was there, Monday morning, to be the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes. He was there to time her shower, calling her out after ten minutes. She sighed, unhappy to be leaving the safety of the shower and the soap, but she was slowly learning to adapt with less showering time.

They made it to work in record time. Will dropped her off at her office, letting her know that at anytime during the day she was free to visit him; at any point she could leave and go home if she wished. She nodded and thanked him; he asked her again if she was sure she wanted to be there. She was sure – she needed the normalcy back in her life. He kissed her cheek quickly – not wanting any early bird students to catch them, and made his way to his classroom to set up for his first period senior Spanish class.

Emma loved the senior class. They were much more... levelheaded than the younger classes; more accepting, more mature. She had four seniors come in to check on her before classes, asking if she was alright, and if she needed anything. Her first period was filled with three seniors coming to talk to her about college application , and degree questions. Talking to them, watching them becoming excited over their own futures took her mind off of the events of Thursday night.

The Glee kids, which Emma was surprised about, all made their appearances during first and second period as well. She was touched at how much they all cared, and was even surprised when Kurt thanked her very much for saving Quinn. Emma didn't consider herself a hero in any way.

Quinn made her appearance during third period, after lunch. Emma had just settled, squirting some hand sanitizer on her hands, and rubbing in thoroughly, when Quinn burst through the door to her office. Breathing heavily - Emma's mind flashed with worry for the baby – Quinn's eyes were filled with tears, as they always seemed to be lately. She was clearly agitated.

"They found him Miss Pillsbury," Quinn breathed. Tears spilled over, and Emma noticed how nervous the girl looked. "They found him, and they want me to do a line up."


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Someone mentioned that a rape kit would be completely useless at this point... and for catching the rapist, then yes I completely agree – especially if they took as many showers as Emma did. But they also test for STDS, and it's very very useful to know if you have an STD. Anyway, hope you guys like this chapter :)

Sorry it's so short! The flashback thing was inspired by what happened on the season finale. Because Sue can be a nice person :)

* * *

"I don't think I can do this by myself," Quinn sobbed, dumping her books into the chair to Emma's right, while she dropped into the chair to the left. She hugged herself, as she choked on a sob. "Please come with me. I can't do it alone. Please." Quinn looked at her through her tear-filled and puffy eyes.

Emma froze. "Um... Quinn... I just... I'll be right back." Emma rose, and as she passed Quinn, she patted her hesitantly on the shoulder. She then darted out her office door and down the hall.

Will was in his third period class, when Emma knocked urgently on the door. He met her eyes, said something to the students – Emma couldn't quite hear through the door – and left the room to meet her in the empty hall.

"They found him – they want Quinn to do a line-up." Emma blurted out. "Will, she wants me to go with her."

Will placed his hands on her shoulders, and rubbed them affectionately. "It's okay Emma, you can do this."

"No Will! I don't think I can. I'm scared, and what if he sees me? What if he comes after us again? What if he comes after Quinn again?" Emma's face was slowly draining of colour as she rambled off the series of 'what ifs' that came into her mind.

"Emma," he said sternly. "You want to take care of Quinn right? You want her to come live with you – you told me that Friday."

Emma nodded slowly.

"This is what parenting is all about. She's looking to you for help; and you need to put aside your needs and wants for hers. Do you think she's going to get a very good message when you tell her that you don't want to do something because you're scared? I'm not saying you don't have a right to be scared – you definitely do. I'm saying you need to set an example for her. You're strong Emma, and you're capable of this. Because of you, Quinn will be able to look back on this whole experience and know that she was strong enough to face her – and your – attacker and put him away because of _you_." Will's eyes didn't move away from Emma's.

Emma nodded, much like an athlete after a pep-talk from her coach, and turned on her heel slowly. She gave one more nervous glance back at Will; he smiled back at her comfortingly and encouragingly, before she steadily walked down the hallway, and back to her office where Quinn was waiting for her.

Quinn looked up with tear stained cheeks and watery eyes, as Emma gently shut the door behind her. Leaning against the door, Emma took a deep breath, and met Quinn's eyes.

"How did they um... How did – How did they find him?" Emma asked quietly.

Quinn swallowed back the lump in her throat before she answered. "An officer called me at lunch... he said it was some sort of citizen's arrest from the sketch I gave on Saturday, or something." Quinn batted her hand as if it weren't really important to her how the man was caught.

* * *

_Officer Terry Williams looked from the front desk of the police station, smiling at the woman standing before him. _

"_Hey there Sue. How are you?" _

_Sue Sylvester grinned back at him, holding up a foul smelling drunk by the collar of his shirt. One eye was black, and he was nursing his left arm with his right. Most of his weight was placed on his right leg as well. _

"_Well Terry, after I saw the sketch you gave me at the nursing home, I couldn't help but recognize this man as the man in your sketch." Sue looked over at the drunk, who was avoiding eye contact with her. _

"_Are you alright sir?" Terry asked, lazily. He didn't seem to concerned for the drunk. _

_The drunk nodded, and Sue answered for him. "He must have had a bit to drink... He kept falling on every pile of rocks we crossed." Sue gave a cocky grin. _

_Terry chuckled, but gave her a stern look. "That is unfortunate." He beckoned another officer over, and quickly asked him to cuff the drunk. Terry turned back to Sue once the drunk was out of her hands and on his way to the holding cell. _

_"How is my little pygmy co-worker? I was so sad to hear about it through the Cheerio grapevine."_

_"Ah, she hasn't really spoken to us yet; that's about all I can tell you without getting into too much trouble," He gave her a warning glance to not ask too many more questions. "__Tell my sister I say hi. Is she still on nights now?" _

"_Believe so, buddy. Saw her when I went to see my sister last night." Sue winked, and left the precinct. _

* * *

"I just..." Quinn choked on her sob, burying her face in her hands again.

Emma moved quickly over to Quinn, and gently patted her back. "It's okay Quinn... I'm going to go with you."

"Really? They want me to come in tonight." Quinn looked up at her, hopefully.

Emma hesitated. "Yes. I'm going to go with you." She repeated, more for herself than for Quinn.

Quinn buried her face into Emma's shoulder, and once again Emma found herself counting numbers, breathing deeply. Monday night was going to be very difficult.


End file.
